Honour Before Love

Chapter Five - The Evening Before Departure

Legolas sat down at the small writing desk in his room. It was time
to write the hardest letter of his life. He had been at Rivendell
more than two months now and had only had one message conveyed home
early on to say that he had arrived safely, but would not be
returning in the near future as he was needed here. Why exactly he
was needed he did not say, not just because it wasn't sensible to
write down anything to do with the ring, but because he did not want
his father to find out about the Fellowship until it was too late for
Thranduil to stop him.

But now the time had come to write at least part of the truth down,
but it was not to King Thranduil that he wrote, it was his wife,
Alemi.

Slowly and with many pauses and crossings out, he told her that he
was part of an important plan to stop the darkness that was taking
over more than just Mirkwood. Now for the difficult part...

'I do not know quite how to say this, but it must be said. What I am
about to do will probably bring about my death, but even if it does
not and we are successful, I will not return to Mirkwood. You know
as well as I do that I have never had the desire to rule and so I
abdicate all my responsibilities as Crown Prince to Jarab. Please
tell him that I am sorry for doing this to him but I feel I have
little choice...that fate has chosen a different destiny for me.

There is just one more thing I must say. I know you have never loved
me and you know my heart is already taken, and so I believe it is
finally time to do what we have both been avoiding for many years.
In the enclosed package you will find the ring you gave me. Our
marriage has been a travesty for too long...and as of this moment I
consider it dissolved.

Please remember that I care for you and I do not do this lightly, but
done it must be.

Yours respectfully

Legolas'

It was done. Carefully he wrote it out again and folded it into
three before writing Alemi's name on it. The final thing left to do
was to remove his wedding ring. As he removed it he felt as if he
was released from his prison. His heart and soul felt perceptibly
lighter. He wrapped the golden band up in a piece of material and
put it on top of the letter. He had already arranged for a messenger
to convey it to Mirkwood, but that would not be until the following
morning, when he left himself.

Standing up gracefully, he headed for the bathroom to clean up before
the final task he had set for this evening. He just hoped this would
be more pleasurable than the previous tasks...

********

Elrond stood on the private balcony of his chambers deep in thought,
not even noticing the deep purple of the sky or the twinkling stars
adorning it. Tomorrow the fellowship would leave Rivendell and head
inexorably for Mordor...and with them would go two whom he loved
dearly. Aragorn, he understood - it was his destiny - but why
Legolas would take this on himself still remained a mystery.

It had been over two months since the golden prince had returned to
Rivendell and Elrond had been restless ever since. It had been
pointless to deny it to himself. He still loved him. At night his
body ached knowing that Legolas slept under the same roof but not in
his arms. Every night he had to summon all his willpower not to go
to him. Elrond knew he was not delusive in believing that Legolas
still felt the physical attraction between them. Just one look in
those blue eyes full of hunger was enough.

And now, tonight, was his last chance. Tomorrow he would be gone and
he would be left with what might have been once again. Yet he knew
he would still do nothing. Legolas himself had said it was too late
for them.

Elrond suddenly stiffened as he heard a soft knock at the door.
Surely it couldn't be...? He instantly stifled his hopes. It would
just be Glorfindel or the twins checking up and worrying about him as
usual. He decided to ignore them. If he couldn't have the one he
wanted, he'd rather be alone.

At the sound of the door opening he looked around in surprise, his
family respected his privacy too much to walk in where they were not
wanted. A small gasp left his mouth when he saw the object of his
thoughts standing there almost as if he had called him. Dressed in a
loose fitting grey robe and no braids in his slightly damp, golden
hair, Elrond thought he had never looked more ethereal...or more
desirable. He came in from the balcony and looked at the other elf.

'What are you doing here?' he asked, cursing when he heard the
tremble in his own voice.

'I needed to speak to you in private one last time before I left,'
Legolas said softly, closing the door and leaning back against it.

'Say what you have to say and leave,' Elrond replied roughly.
Standing in his bedroom where they had spent so many nights of
passion - where Legolas had belonged solely to him - was far too
intimate. Unbidden images flashed before his eyes making his groin
flare with lust.

'Actually it was more a request,' he took a couple of steps towards
the older elf. 'I have seen you looking at me and I want to know if
it means what I think.'

'And what do you think it means?' Elrond asked, his mouth dry.

'That you still desire me,' Legolas replied simply. He kept his eyes
fixed on the silvery grey orbs, half expecting a denial, but none was
forthcoming.

'Who could not desire you?' asked Elrond wryly. 'You are, and always
have been, enchanting.'

Legolas took a few more steps towards Rivendell's lord so he was
close enough to touch him. Heart pounding, he knew it was now or
never.

'I do not ask for your heart...I forfeited the right to that many
years ago. All I ask for is one night to give me something sweet to
remember in the dark nights that must follow.'

He raised a trembling hand to the noble face before him and caressed
his cheek. Elrond stood as still as a statue under his touch,
neither moving towards, nor moving away.

Desperate for a reaction, Legolas closed the gap between their
bodies, one arm sliding around his lord's waist and the other losing
itself in the dark hair.

At first the lips he touched with his own were cool and unresponsive
and for a moment Legolas despaired. But then he saw the flare of
need in the other's eyes and the mouth under his opened, inviting him
to explore the hot, moist cavern.

Reluctantly, Legolas pulled himself away, guilt suffusing his body.

'If you don't want this, say now and I will leave,' he said
desperately. 'I don't want to feel I have forced you...'

'I want this, Legolas,' Elrond assured his raggedly, the need etched
plain on his face. 'It is all I have thought about since you came
back into my life.' With that it was he who closed the gap between
them, greedily meeting the lips that he had spent too many night
dreaming about.

The passion that had long simmered, boiled over in a frantic tangle
of lips and tongues and urgently bestowed caresses. Neither could
get close enough to the other, so deep was the need that had risen up
in both of them.

They made their way over to the bed, never letting go of each other,
and with eager hands making short work of the clothes that were an
irritating barrier between them and the naked skin they craved.

Elrond pushed the prince roughly down onto bed, quickly covering his
body with his own, desperate to taste and feel what had once been so
familiar. He traced a path of kisses down Legolas' neck, whilst his
hands explored the bow-hardened muscles of his arms and chest.

'As beautiful as I remember,' Elrond whispered reverently, making his
way further down the golden body beneath him. Pausing to suck in an
already hard nipple and biting down firmly. Legolas arched into the
touch in both pleasure and pain, calling out his lover's name.

Satisfied with this response, he kissed down the chest and onto the
flat stomach that rippled under his touch. He stopped suddenly when
he came to an unexpected mark just below the bellybutton. He traced
a finger along the thin white scar.

'What did you do here?' asked the older elf with faint concern.
Legolas looked down with passion-glazed eyes which cleared instantly
when he saw what he was examining.

'It is nothing,' Legolas said hastily. 'A mere scratch in battle.'
He silently cursed himself for forgetting about the mark left from
the birth of his son and not having time to think up a more
convincing lie.

Elrond looked at him, puzzled.

'But it must have been deep to leave such a mark as this and the line
is strangely thin and straight...'

'It is *nothing*,' Legolas repeated firmly.

That his lover was hiding something, Elrond was sure, but this was
not the time to seek answers. There was a much more urgent task that
begged his attention...

He drew his tongue along the white line, revelling in the feeling of
the body trembling beneath him. Legolas, relieved that he was not
going to question him further, once more lost himself in the touch he
craved.

Finally Elrond came to the physical evidence of his lover's passion,
hard and leaking. Gently he licked the very tip, pressing down on
the hips that wanted to thrust up to meet him.

'Patience, my dear Legolas,' he whispered. 'If this is to be a sweet
memory for you I will handle it my own way.'

Sighing, Legolas relaxed beneath him, submitting willingly to
whatever the elven lord had planned. He knew from experience he
would not be disappointed.

He could not suppress a gasp though as his arousal was swallowed
down, entirely cocooned in the warm, wet haven of his lover's mouth.
All too soon he could feel heat rising within him and the threat of
release looming near. He moaned and abruptly he felt a rush of cold
air as his member was released from its prison.

'Not yet, my prince,' murmured Elrond. 'It has been too long to let
it be over so quickly.'

Elrond shifted up Legolas' body, reaching for a small bottle on the
table by his bedside. The golden haired elf's eyes grew dark with
anticipation as his lover poured a generous amount onto his fingers
before setting it aside.

The first fingertip at his most intimate entrance pulled a hiss from
the prince even as he shifted his hips to allow for better access,
moaning with pleasure at that he had not felt for two centuries. As
the older elf took his time preparing him, Legolas grew impatient
again. With a quick flip of his body he reversed their positions.

'I want you now,' he growled, reaching behind him and grasping his
lover's arousal, holding it steady against his willing entrance.

Any protest Elrond was going to make was swiftly forgotten as Legolas
impaled himself in one abrupt thrust down. Neither could hold back
their groans as they became one. They moved together in the
practised movements of old lovers, each knowing how to give the other
the most pleasure. Climax followed more swiftly than either desired,
but then forever would not have been long enough.

*******

Legolas listened to the regular breathing of his lover and wondered
at the serene expression on his face bathed in the moonlight. All he
wanted to do was lay there and surrender to the peace of being held
in the strong arms of the one he loved, but he knew that would be a
mistake. In their coupling, neither had spoken any words of love and
on his part that had been on purpose. He considered it unfair to
make any promises he could not keep, but he knew if he woke up still
in his lover's arms he would not be able to stop himself.

Silently - and regretfully - he slid out of Elrond's tight embrace,
wincing as, even in his sleep, a look of bereftment overcame his
lover's handsome face at the loss of the one he held.

Legolas could not resist placing one last soft kiss on his lips.

'I love you,' he whispered softly, daring to say what he could not
when his beloved was awake. 'I always have and I always will.'

Moving away from the bed, he dressed quickly. Finally he looked back
one last time trying to imprint the image in his mind, before leaving
the room.

*******

Elrond turned over, reaching sleepily for hiver.ver. He awoke
abruptly when he discovered a cold space where he had imagined him to
be. A wave of desolation overtook him. Legolas had done it again.
He had left him...

*******
With the morning came the leaving of the Fellowship from Imladris.
Elrond was his normal composed self to those who didn't know him
well, like the hobbits, but to those closest to him, they could
detect a distinct desolateness to his manner. He said farewell to
each in turn, yet when his grey eyes met the sky blue ones of his
lover, his emotions tightened his throat at the thought he may never
see him again. So instead, he merely nodded. He did not think of
the effect this would have on Legolas; did not realise that the young
prince would believe this a sign that he regretted their night
together.

Aragorn was not the only one to look calculatingly between the prince
and the lord. That something *had* happened was unmistakable, but
exactly what, they could not discern.

TBC.